Syfy teams with Corman for "Dinoshark" movie

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Roger Corman, the B-movie titan behind cable channel Syfy movies “Supergator” and “Dinocroc,” is venturing into the waters with a new creature feature next month.

“Dinoshark,” which debuts March 13, is a follow-up of sorts to “Dinocroc.” Corman originally thought of doing “Dinocroc 2,” but Syfy executives discovered that, unlike theatrical audiences, TV movie audiences respond better to new-but-similar ideas more than direct sequels.

“Global warming causes the glaciers to break apart,” Corman said of his latest opus. “We start the picture with real beautiful shots of the glaciers falling into the ocean. The unborn egg of the Dinoshark that has been frozen for millions of years is released.”

Syfy also wants Corman to do a movie based on the pre-tested title “Sharktopus!” But the concept presented the filmmaker with a challenge. The man behind such 1950s exploitation flicks as “Attack of the Crab Monsters” and “Not of This Earth” wants his creatures to be at least somewhat believable.

“‘Sharktopus!’ is more difficult because you can imagine a prehistorical crocodile like the Dinocroc, but there’s no such thing as prehistoric half-shark, half-octopus,” Corman said. “I tried to figure out how to do this.”

The solution? The U.S. Navy has commissioned a group called Blue Water to genetically engineer a half-shark, half-octopus to help combat Somali pirate ships. Then things go wrong.

“It’s fairly difficult to believe, but we only ask the audience to accept this one thing,” he said. “After that, we take great care that everything else is logical from then on and is something that could happen.”